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Handhelds Hardware

Sony Exits US Handheld Market 246

Posted by CmdrTaco from the end-of-the-clie dept.
10999 writes "Today Brighthand reports that Sony will no longer develop and sell Clie handheld models to the United States market. Most certainly that means no more Clies for Europe, too."
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Sony Exits US Handheld Market More

Sony Exits US Handheld Market

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  • what a pun (Score:4, Funny)

    by everyplace ( 527571 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:18AM (#9302456) Homepage
    Not enough clientele, I suppose?

    • Palm Numbers (Score:5, Informative)

      by Deathlizard ( 115856 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:42AM (#9302616) Homepage Journal
      From Palminfocenter's market share list [palminfocenter.com]

      Worldwide Handheld Marketshare 2003
      1. palmOne 40%
      2. HP 22%
      3. Sony 14%
      4. Dell 6%
      5. Toshiba 3%
      6. All Others 15%

      Best Selling SKUs (Oct - Dec 2003 US Retail)
      Rank Model % of Total
      1. palmOne Tungsten E 19%
      2. Sony Clie SJ22 13%
      3. palmOne Zire 21 10%
      4. palmOne Zire 71 7%
      5. HP iPaq 1945 (PPC) 6%
      6. palmOne Zire 6%
      7. Sony Clie TJ25 6%
      8. palmOne Tungsten T3 4%
      9. HP iPaq 2215 (PPC) 4%
      10. palmOne Zire 21 Limited Ed Bundle 3%

      It's not likely they were having Problems selling them, they were the number 2 PalmOS Based PDA seller, and The Number 3 Overall. They also had the number 2 and 7 best selling PDA.

      Maybe they were expecting to sell more than this, or maybe most of those sales are outside the US.
      • I think it's not that Sony had 2 models in the top 10, but rather they had at least 5 more out of the top 10 - too many models, too little differentiation. It's a small segment of the market (compared to all PC sales, which PDAs often feature as a companion piece) and I can't say for myself that Sony offerend a unique vision that I focused in on. The thumb-wheel was a blessing, but aside from pushing Palm along with screen quality and networking features there wasn't anything I'd jump to Sony for. IMHO, of

      • Re:Palm Numbers (Score:3, Interesting)

        by twalk ( 551836 )
        It's not the number they were selling, it's the profit they were making. Or, more correctly, the lack of it.

        NO ONE is making money selling PDAs. Combine this with a SHRINKING market, and why would any sane company want to keep shipping PDAs? At this rate, the entire PDA market will be gone in 3 years... (To be replaced by smartphones and palmtop XP computers.)

  • Dumbasses (Score:5, Insightful)

    by metamatic ( 202216 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:18AM (#9302460) Homepage Journal
    Well, if they hadn't removed the Bluetooth from the TH-55, I'd have bought one. *sigh*

    Now I have to wait for Palm to come up with something comparable.

    • Re:Dumbasses (Score:5, Insightful)

      by swordboy ( 472941 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:35AM (#9302565) Journal
      Well, if they hadn't removed the Bluetooth from the TH-55, I'd have bought one. *sigh*

      Once again, people seem to be forgetting that Sony doesn't cater to the "one percenters" here on slashdot. The fact of the matter is that Sony probably put a lot of money into researching this decision. I bet that they've found that most of the market will be going into PDA phones and the like.

      If you haven't worked in an enterprise environment, then you haven't witnessed the dominance of Blackberries [yahoo.com] as of late. This is the future. Combined with Intel's upcoming personal server [com.com], people will have a "local replica" of all of their data to take with them. As they say in Soviet Russia, "the PC will log onto YOU". It won't matter if it isn't your PC - as long as it is "digital briefcase" compliant, it will wirelessly recognize your personal server and give you the option to log into your data set.

      Nice!

      • Re:Dumbasses (Score:3, Insightful)

        by torpor ( 458 )
        Blackberries may be popular in the United States, but in the rest of the world everyone has moved on ... to smart phones.

        Of course, the convergence from PDA to phone and back again is not without its detractors... [theregister.co.uk]

      • Re:Dumbasses (Score:5, Interesting)

        by metamatic ( 202216 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:16AM (#9302845) Homepage Journal
        The BlackBerry does not meet my personal needs for a portable computing device.

        I want a screen that's as close to paperback book size as possible, and either no built-in keyboard or a fold-over clamshell design with a good size built-in keyboard. Also, it has to connect to OS X and Linux, and not require purchase of Microsoft software. 802.11b and Bluetooth are also big pluses.

        I don't want a PDA phone because I want a PDA screen that would result in a phone that's way too large. I just don't get the whole PDA phone thing, in fact. I want my phone to be smaller and my PDA screen to be bigger--fairly basic incompatibility with PDA phones and BlackBerry devices there.

        • Re:Dumbasses (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward
          You wanting something doesn't mean you're going to get it. Maybe one half of one percent of the market place cares is their PDA connects to OS X and Linux.
        • I just don't get the whole PDA phone thing

          Most PDA's are used as nothing more than glorified address books. Integrating that functionality into a phone means one less device to carry around and forget to recharge. I have to agree with the size though. A large screen really isn't necessary for phone functionality. If only someone made a regular sized cellphone that could synch with the PalmOS phone book. And no, the Treo is too wide.
          • Most PDA's are used as nothing more than glorified address books.

            Maybe for you a PDA is a glorified address book, but some people actually use them for something at work. For example, I use mine to play solitaire at meetings while looking like I'm taking notes. That, and to sync with Outlook to be reminded of when those meetings are. Isn't this what everyone uses PDAs for???

        • I want the exact same device. The Sony PEG-UX50 was close, but the tiny screen at that high resolution just didn't cut it. Also, not a lot of Palm apps [intelligently] supported the native landscape mode.

          Find me the device above for about that price, and I'll buy it on the spot.

          --D
        • I just don't get the whole PDA phone thing

          Why carry (and recharge every night) two pocket-size electronic devices when you can carry just a single one that does both?

          The way I see it, if you're carrying a PDA around all the time anyway, there's no reason it shouldn't be able to serve as your cell phone also. Yes, it is awkward to hold a big flat brick of a PDA up to your ear, but that problem's resolved easily enough with a $9 hands-free earpiece.

          • Re:why carry more than one thing? (Score:4, Insightful)

            by aussersterne ( 212916 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @11:41AM (#9304606) Homepage
            Why carry (and recharge every night) two pocket-size electronic devices when you can carry just a single one that does both?

            Because a PDA should have a screen large enough to be useful. But that means that you may not want to carry it around all the time-- when you go on vacation, for example, or if you're just making a run to the convenience store for a twelve-pack. But of course you do want to carry your phone around all the time. Most phones right now will easily fit in a pants pocket unintrusively enough that you can jog or take a nap on a couch with them on your person. But a usably-sized PDA? Not really.

            A headset? What if you're talking to someone about something and you need to pass the conversation for a moment to your friend, standing next to you? Much easier with a traditional form phone factor. What if you're backing up a full PDA and flash card and you want to make a phone call or go somewhere while you wait for the backup to complete?

            What about battery life? Generally, you want your phone to be on all the time... but you don't want your PDA on unless you're using it, in order to maximize battery life. You've had a heavy day using your PDA at work and the battery is almost gone, but luckily work is almost over and you're going out with friends right afterward, you just need to call them to arrange a meeting place... d'oh! Battery dead, no phone all evening, unless you go home first and charge your PDA. Or feel free to reverse the scenario.

            As usual, the integration of two devices means significant compromises for both.
        • It sounds like you might want a Zaurus [sharpusa.com].

      • Re:Dumbasses (Score:2, Insightful)

        by uradu ( 10768 )
        > you haven't witnessed the dominance of
        > Blackberries as of late. This is the future.

        Maybe something LIKE Blackberries, but not actual Blackberries. The company is WAY too enterprise obsessed to give a damn about average consumers. If there's a "future" in communications devices, it's more something like the Treo, a combination PDA and cell phone with GPRS or equivalent. In particular, it's got to be an open platform that can take freely or cheaply developed third party software. That's the ONLY way

      • Re:Dumbasses (Score:3, Interesting)

        by alanh ( 29068 ) *
        Once again, people seem to be forgetting that Sony doesn't cater to the "one percenters" here on slashdot

        That's not the point.... The TH-55 in Japan and Europe is virtually identical to the one in the US, with the exception that Bluetooth is disabled. It's not a matter of being a "one percenter," the annoying thing is that they already did the engineering for a fantastic product, released the product in several markets, and then went out of their way to remove a feature for the American version.

        The Jap

  • I won't miss it Sony did not keep promise (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CreamOfWheat ( 593775 ) * on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:19AM (#9302461)
    So long Sony, I won't miss the Clie because of what they did to me. I was happy to pay nearly $500 for a Clie NR70V, but when Sony lied to me and told me that one day I would be able to use a 1 gig memory stick with it, they lost me as a customer. I not only quit buying Sony PDAs, I didn't buy a Sony camera, opting for a Minolta with a standard SD card slot. Sony charged premium prices for some very nice models and they were making money on them until the memory stick debacle coupled with their crippled CF slot. I will be happy buying elsewhere from a company that keeps its promises to its customers. So don't let the Memory Stick hit you on the backside when you leave Sony!
    • I feel the exact same way! I bought an NR70, expecting to be able to use the new mem sticks when they came out, but, no! I'm stuck with 128mb sticks. Same goes for my nice cybershot camera.

      Come back when your products will do what they should.

  • fair amount of turnover (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 192939495969798999 ( 58312 ) <info AT devinmoore DOT com> on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:20AM (#9302468) Homepage Journal
    This is the second "successful" handheld device I have seen cancelled recently -- I develop for handhelds, and we can't get the ones we've been getting (Thera) anymore. It should be no surprise that some shakedown of the myriad of devices out there would come to pass, but it does surprise me to see a company as large as Sony stop making anything.

  • Probably going to focus on PSP. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Viewsonic ( 584922 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:22AM (#9302478)
    They mentioned several times that they want the PSP to be a multifunction device with PDA abilities, and a whole host of other abilities (MP3, Movies, GPS, etc) other than just being a dedicated game machine.
    • Exactly my thoughts. Although I will never use the PSP as a pda simply due to it's size, I may purchase it. My NZ-90 I currently own is a beast and I love it, but it's about time for an upgrade and I was looking at going with Sony -- guess it's time to look at PocketPC again...
    • The PSP is going to be the Game Gear all over again. Size and battery life will kill it.

      If Sony took down their Clie operations in order not to "compete with PSP," that only means in two years they'll be out two revenue streams.

      Jon Acheson

    • Re:Probably going to focus on PSP. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:38AM (#9303073) Homepage Journal
      I agree, given the aggressive launch schedule Sony is trying to follow for the PSP (fall 2005 US I think), shifting resources to PSP makes sense. It wouldn't be surprising if a lot of the Clie people were working on PSP too.

      It is also likely that the PSP has a far greater profit potential than the Clie too. For the Clie they only get money on hardware and probably not too much since they have to pay PalmOS licensing fees along with competing with a dozen or so other PDAs. For PSP, they will likely lose money on the hardware but more than make it up in royalties paid by game publishers for the system. If Nintendo's success in the handheld console market is an indicator, then PSP could make some major dough for Sony.

      As for battery life, etc..., with the Clie people working on PSP, I like their chances. They've got experienced, talented people and a clear target and path laid out by current portable king, Nintendo. So on the whole, I think dropping Clie to focus on PSP is a good bet. This isn't Game Gear again by any means. Sony has far greater resources than Sega ever did and has shown that they know how to fight in the games market.

    • LCDs? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by muel ( 132794 )
      wait wait wait - you're on to something, but you're missing the A1 numero uno priority for Sony to do this. Let's follow the train of the latest news in portable hardware, shall we?

      Sony wants to claim a huge stake in the handheld gaming market, and they know that the opening sales of the PSP will be pretty indicative of how the console will do down the line. Big launch will mean big boost in reputation, and then more third parties to develop for the PSP, more sales, yadda yadda.

      However, this [reuters.com] article point
    • "They mentioned several times that they want the PSP to be a multifunction device with PDA abilities..."

      No touch screen.

  • sony just didn't see the big picture (Score:4, Interesting)

    by 2057 ( 600541 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:23AM (#9302489) Homepage Journal
    sony just didn't see the big picture, eventually the only PC people will have is a hand-held one, they could've made a killing if they just added a tv-out to their clie models, along with the ability to plug into regular size keyboards/mice, this way for the casual user, one who only reads emails, and checks news online, does reports in word, they could've provided a low-cost desktop alternative. b
    • sony just didn't see the big picture

      But it seems that Sony does see the big picture, they just don't think it applies to the US! They have the most amazing little portable machines in Japan, in fact Sony has whole ranges that they don't sell in the US.

      Perhaps it is something to do with the weak dollar? Maybe the US is no longer profitable for them for top of the range products?

      • It's probably simply a matter of cultural tastes. The Japanese have always been up for buying small, nifty gadgets than Americans. I'm sure there's something Americans buy more than Japanese, too.

        Example: small cars sell well in Europe, but US buyers balk at them. Two different cultures, two different sets of buying priorities. Nothing wrong with that.

        -Erwos

    • Re:sony just didn't see the big picture (Score:5, Interesting)

      by InodoroPereyra ( 514794 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:00AM (#9302739)
      eventually the only PC people will have is a hand-held one
      This is about right. I am not sure if people will only use handheld PCs, but there certainly is a golden mountain waiting out there for whoever comes up with something affordable inbetween a PDA and a Sub-Notebook. That means:
      • TV out for screen presentation
      • Small and Light (PDA'like)
      • PDA functionality (PIM software)
      • Laptop functionality (Office suite, Internet apps)
      • Wi-Fi
      • USB host/client
      • Built-in, perhaps foldable full size keyboard
      • Decent (800x600) screen resolution
      It doesn't need to fit in a pocket, but it should be at least close to that. The Zaurus is the closest thing, and it even runs Linux (which for me is a must). But it lacks a good set of PIM applications AFAIK, and a fullsize keyboard, TV-out and a little more screen resolution perhaps.

      Now, who is gonna come up with this beauty ?

    • You mean like the OQO [oqo.com]?

  • Damn... great products (Score:5, Informative)

    by digitalgimpus ( 468277 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:24AM (#9302498) Homepage
    I chose my T665C over Palm branded hardware for a reason: So much more for the cash.

    - Brilliant Color Screen
    - MP3 Audio capabilities (via separate chip, which saves lots of power)
    - Sound
    - Small Size, light
    - Great construction (alloy back)
    - Pretty good package of software around it.

    I've been very happy with it.

    And shockingly, the nearest Palm equivilant didn't have anywhere near those specs. For more money, less of a product.

    I'll miss the sony's in the market. Though I think Palm OS has caught up a bit.
    • I chose my T665C over Palm branded hardware for a reason: So much more for the cash.

      I also have a T665C, which I like. I got it a while back (over a year) for $279, which was a good deal at the time. It only has a 66 MHz. Dragonball processor, 16 MB RAM, PalmOS 4.1 and a 320x320 (nice as you said) display.

      Fast forward to now - I can get a new Tungsten T3, 400 MHz. ARM processor, 64 MB RAM, PalmOS 5, and a 320x480 (very nice!) display, new for $330 or so. I intend to as soon as circumstances permit. (Its

      • But having the audio chip separate was a major perk.

        The Clie's have great battery life as is. But with the audio chip, it's much more efficient for MP3 playback, then running it off the processor. (always have your screen disabled via the little button on the side).

        Battery life IMHO is a big part of Clie Life.

  • Japanese have all the best toys (Score:5, Insightful)

    by pubjames ( 468013 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:26AM (#9302507)

    In my recent visit to Japan, I saw loads of technology that isn't in the US yet. Why is this? Yes, I know that it is stuff that is manufacturered by Japanese companies and so it is natural that it should appear there first, but Japan seems to be the best stuff several years before the US. Is the USA not a good market for tech gadgets?

    The miniature laptops I saw just rocked, and I can't believe they wouldn't sell in the US.

    • Re:Japanese have all the best toys (Score:5, Interesting)

      by zulux ( 112259 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:03AM (#9302761) Homepage Journal
      The miniature laptops I saw just rocked, and I can't believe they wouldn't sell in the US.

      Miniaturizes Japanese product wouldn't survive our warranty expectations here in the us.

      For an example:

      Japanese Consumer: Drops mini-laptop onto concrete and it breaks. He cries, but then buys another.

      American Consumer: Drops mini-laptop onto concrete and it breaks. He cries, calls the manufacturer a demands a replacement, gets none, called the Better Business people and gripes. He then procedes to tell his friends that product "X" is a piece of junk. He get his credit card company to issue a charge back.

      There's a lot of hiking/climbing gear that never makes it to the US from Europe and Japan for the same reason.
      • Miniaturizes Japanese product wouldn't survive our warranty expectations here in the us.

        Do you know for a fact that Japanese consumers don't have the same type of warranties as they do in the US?

        Most Japanese products I have purchased have had a higher build quality than their US equivalents - not only for PCs, but also cameras, cars, etc. I think you're talking out your ass.

        There's a lot of hiking/climbing gear that never makes it to the US from Europe and Japan for the same reason.

        Or a different r

        • Re:Japanese have all the best toys (Score:5, Informative)

          by blastedtokyo ( 540215 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:58AM (#9303283)
          I live in Tokyo (after living in the US) and I'll tell you, it's a bitch to try to return/exchange anything. Most places flatly turn you down. Warranties are similar to the US on paper but they're stricter about not fixing something that could be blamed on the slightest possibility of wear and tear. But if it is actually a manufacturers defect, generally the warranty service is better than in the US.
      • More like: American consumer tries to eat mini-laptop, gets all kinds of internal bleeding and poisoning, and litigates manufacturer into extinction. At least judging by all the warnings not to eat contents on the most improbable products on the American market.

    • Exchange rate, price sensitivity (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:09AM (#9302798)
      If you convert the price in Yen to USD, many of these products would not sell in the US.

      Japanese people are willing to pay a premium for small/lightweight products. Americans are not as willing. Throughout all of Asia/Pacific, people use a combination of mass transit and walking. When I visited Hong Kong, my colleagues were astounded at the 40lb. bag I carried -- a big IBM Thinkpad and every accessory that I might possibly need. Imagine a computer room in a bag. It was somewhat inconvenient to take this heavy computer bag in and out of cabs and the subway, but I did it. Months later, the same people visited me in the US. I said, "Now I can show you why my computer bag is not so crazy." We walked out of my office, down a flight of stairs, and 50 feet to my car, where I popped the trunk and dropped the bag right in. Size and weight of the computer are meaningless because I seldom carry it for more than 2 minutes at a time.

      I won't attempt to speak for everyone, but I want gizmos with full features, durability, and low price. Size and weight are secondary. If I lived in Asia, my priorities would be different.
    • It's because of the way the japanese buy stuff as compared to the rest of the world. The japanese have no problem with a whole slew of models coming out within months of each other, each having slightly better specs/extra hardware. The rest of the world wants a huge leap in tech before they'd upgrade their equipment.
      The japanese buy evolutionary tech, the rest of the world only wants to buy something that's revolutionary better than their old stuff. Which means that in Japan, they get a higher turn over of

  • Battery too small for wireless (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tburt11 ( 517910 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:26AM (#9302512)
    All of the handhelds that I have evaluated do not have a long enough battery life to be useful.

    A full time radio connection (wifi is an example) requires significant power resources.

    Handhelds don't have the power.

    The small Sony laptops are more appropriate. They have a useable keyboard, and they almost fit in a jacket pocket

  • Handhelds are dead! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by midifarm ( 666278 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:28AM (#9302524) Homepage
    I think the handwriting's been on the wall on this one for quite a while. It's become more mainstream to carry your laptop around and or your cell phone has the ability to store all your addresses and such. I've stopped using mine about a year ago in favour of my iPod. Granted I have to enter everything via my computer, but that doesn't bother me too much. I don't feel the need to carry around another $400 device just so I can have the luxury of scribbling in a name or two in my device on the fly. RIP PDA's, we loved when you were around!

    Peace

    • I use the calendar and address book in my phone (SonyEricsson T610). It does a pretty good job displaying my data. If I have to, I can input meetings and contacts using the phone, if it's no panic I can do it at home using my computer. iSync works perfectly every time, bluetooth rocks. Yay!
    • "I think the handwriting's been on the wall on this one for quite a while. It's become more mainstream to carry your laptop around and or your cell phone has the ability to store all your addresses and such"

      While you're undoubtedly right that this is true for many people, I know several friends who go through cell upgrades often enough *not* to want their personal data on one since it's a pain to do all that migration. That's why 3 of my friends got PDAs - the phones come and go, but the PDAs are both che

      • While you're undoubtedly right that this is true for many people, I know several friends who go through cell upgrades often enough *not* to want their personal data on one since it's a pain to do all that migration. That's why 3 of my friends got PDAs - the phones come and go, but the PDAs are both cheaper and much smaller than a laptop, and they last for years. Plus, compared to the cells I've seen, PDAs are infinitely more standards-based with peripherals and software.

        Your friends are obviously not us

    • I think that's like saying RIP wireless networking because Microsoft exited that market.

      I wouldn't know why people would pay $400 though, I've been using a Palm m100 that I paid $75 for maybe three or four years now.
    • Far from truth. Recently my wife was thinking of buying a MP3 player and a handheld dictionary. Also she needed a scientific calculator. Btw, she just loves to read classic litrature. OBVIOUSLY, she didn't end up with an iPOD. Instead she bought an iPAQ 1940 with a SD memory card. Now, while the device does all those things in one box, she can browse the web over GPRS by connecting to her mobile phone by bluetooth, do the PIM things and use the Pocket PC for navigation by borowing my bluetooth GPS. Granted,

    • Re:Handhelds are dead! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by uradu ( 10768 )
      They're not really dead, they just haven't found their killer app yet. Judging by recent trends and the usage models of bleeding edge users, I'd say the killer app for handhelds is communications. That's what I find myself using my PDA most for lately (well, plus Virtual Pool Mobile, but that's another story). It's got both WiFi and Bluetooth. At home and where available I use WiFi, anywhere else (and I do mean just about anywhere) I use Bluetooth with T-Mobile's excellent GPRS service. All I need now is a
    • your cell phone has the ability to store all your addresses and such.

      If your phone has PIM apps like a handheld, a little finger keyboard like a handheld, a small but high density screen like a handheld, and fits in your hand, how is it not a handheld, and how can you point at it and say "handhelds are dead"?

  • Are they moving to another horizon? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Clinoti ( 696723 ) * on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:28AM (#9302526)
    I think with the recent developments in Mobile phones technology, smartphones and other types of PCDs (personal communication devices), Sony may be staying their hand for entry into another concept or approach to this market.

    Their exit is extremely strange, but until we get more corroborating articles, I'm going to stick to that thought.

  • Do you see this as a clear sing, that Microsofts Pocket PC is slowly winning the PDA operating system war? Or is it just that Sony couldn't turn Palm OS in to the media OS it wanted? Or perhaps something else?
    • Do you see this as a clear sing, that Microsofts Pocket PC is slowly winning the PDA operating system war?

      It shows that Sony is ahead of Microsoft in the PDA market. Sony has now caught up with Apple.
    • There hasn't been a really new Pocket PC in, what, a year? More? Since HP got out of the handheld market in their own right and passed the HP name to their new beaux Compaq?

      In 2002 the better Pocket PC had 32-64M of RAM, one or two flash card slots, and a processor between 200 and 400 MHz, with a 320x240 transflective display. In 2004 the Pocket PC has, what, 64M of RAM, 1-2 flash card slots, a processor between 200 and 400 MHz, and a 320x240 transflective display... and some models have bluetooth and/or w

      • Since HP got out of the handheld market in their own right and passed the HP name to their new beaux Compaq?

        Not entirely true. Actually, it was Compaq who made the iPAQs in the first place, then HP bought Compaq and kept iPAQ name and from 2003 all iPAQs are branded under HP and nothing else.

        In 2002 the better Pocket PC had 32-64M of RAM, one or two flash card slots, and a processor between 200 and 400 MHz, with a 320x240 transflective display. In 2004 the Pocket PC has, what, 64M of RAM, 1-2 flash card

        • it was Compaq who made the iPAQs in the first place

          I know, and they put the HP name on the iPaq and abandoned their own Pocket PC, the Jornada... which was a much better design and had come from behind to almost parity in market share with the iPaq when they pulled the plug on them.

          In fact the big increase in market share in 2002 that lead to to the Pocket PC finally breaking 20% was due entrely to sales of the Jornada.

          the processor power of the Pocket PCs where already enough

          A 400 MHz XScale is not

  • Not Surprising (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Synesthesiatic ( 679680 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:30AM (#9302542) Homepage
    This isn't entirely a surprise. Everybody's seen sales slump [pcworld.com]. Sony, as the article says, will be focusing on the mobile phone market.

    I recently ditched my Palm IIIxe for a Sony Ericsson T616. It isn't technically a "smartphone", but it still has a calendar, to do list, phone book (of course). And it syncs perfectly with iSync over bluetooth.

    If you want to see the real future of Sony PDAs, look here [sonyericsson.com].

  • SonyEricsson P900 (Score:5, Informative)

    by Luyseyal ( 3154 ) <swaters@@@luy...info> on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:34AM (#9302562) Homepage
    So, what is my SonyEricsson P900, chopped liver? Sure it's not a dedicated handheld, but I didn't want one. It does IR, Bluetooth, USB, Calendar, doesn't run Windows, etc.

    Exiting the market, my ass! They're just going to focus on PDA/Phone unified devices.
    -l

  • Not surprising (Score:3, Informative)

    by no_such_user ( 196771 ) <[jd-slashdot-200 ... dreamallday.com]> on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:35AM (#9302567)
    The number of non-windows-based devices Sony has out on the market running different OSes is quite big, especially considering the user base. Ignoring the number of PS2's, look at Sony/Ericsson branded mobile phones. Now, add the upcoming PSP. There's no reason to own a "PDA" when either of these devices will be able to run circles around PalmOS devices.

  • More features (Score:3, Informative)

    by jav1231 ( 539129 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:36AM (#9302573)
    The Clie' offered more power and features than a comparable Palm, though. Which is why I bought my T615C some time back. The same feature set in a Palm would have cost me another $50-$100. I think their designs started getting kinda funky and maybe turned off some people.

  • Due to the rise of next generation mobile phones (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Master Of Ninja ( 521917 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:39AM (#9302591)
    The next generation mobile phones are really what killed the PDA. If you have seen the high end phones some are PDA like (Sony Ericsson P900), and even the medium range now has very good organiser and synchronisation facilities. Combine that with Java expandability and there is not much need for PDAs for most people.
    • a good old Motorola DynaTac [i4u.com] and a punch of post-its.

      It was stylish, being one of the very first true portables, drew lots of looks (almost nobody had one) - isn't that what mobiles should do - look at all the whiz bang bells and whistles they have now. And it was hackable via they keypad and the access codes.

      Turn it on and dial, none of this boot OS advertise Verizon, think for a minute read the phonebook crap with these new fangled phones.

      You could even use it for self defense, sure it cost over $20

    • There's still a significant market out there for people who don't want the do-everything phone. I bought a Clie TJ-25 because it is a great book reader, calendar, and electronic notepad. And it was cheap--I bought just the features I wanted (no MP3 player, camera, etc.)

      It is a mistake to assume that everyone wants a phone-pda-camera-mp3 player-fm radio-refrigerator. (Well, not refrigerator.) Too much integration leads to unused features (==bloat) and wasted money. How many people buy Microsoft Office

  • Not surprising (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CaptainSuperBoy ( 17170 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:40AM (#9302598) Homepage Journal
    Sony takes this kitchen sink approach to their portables, which is why I think the first wave of iPod competitors will fail. They jammed every conceivable feature into their handhelds, completely forgetting that the appeal of PalmOS was to "keep it simple." Memory stick, camera, bluetooth, wifi, MP3 player, etc. They're expensive too, compared to other PalmOS devices.

    The iPod competitor will fail if they release it in the US. It's too big, it'll cost too much, and basically it has too many features and buttons for the US market.
    • Their low-ends were very well priced, and not over-featured...my SJ22 has a lovely 320*320 screen (at the time it was about the only sub-$200 color 320*320...even Sony's ultra-lowend B+W models always had the 320*320 screen), a (not that useful) Sony memorystick slot, and a jogwheel. That's about it for bells-n-whistles, but the form factor is terrific...not very wide across, which is a point that some of the flatter Palm units miss (like the razor is flat, but rather wide...I find the Clie's not as thin,
  • When you think about it, Sony's never been into the corporate market. They're all about multimedia and entertainment, hence the upcoming PSP media handheld [icnetwork.co.uk]. PDAs have their most functional benefits in business applications. I could defnitely see them taking their Clié R&D environment and redirecting it to the market they know best: entertainment.

  • Well, that sucks (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:46AM (#9302631) Homepage
    I use a Pocket PC (been using different ones for the past few years) but have always been impressed by Sony's innovations. If nothing else, they've provided solid competition for Microsoft. Now, it's essentially MS and a very dwindling Palm leading the PDA charge. So much for competition.

  • Pitty (Score:5, Funny)

    by telstar ( 236404 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:46AM (#9302635)
    I bet the guy I rode the elevator up with this morning who was reading his new Clie instruction manual would've liked to know that yesterday.

  • Completely blindsided me (Score:5, Informative)

    by samalone ( 707709 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:47AM (#9302638) Homepage
    I'm a Palm software developer, and I have to admit that this announcement took me completely by surprise. A year or two ago, Sony was responsible for a substantial part of the growth and innovation in this space. Jog dial and high-resolution color screens both came first from Sony, and recently they even developed their own ARM-based processor for their handhelds. I guess I had just assumed that things were cruising along there as usual...

    That said, they weren't always the easiest company to work with. Often, the new models would come out so fast that we couldn't keep track of them, and a customer tech support email would be our first indication that something new was available. They had a tendency to keep certain APIs (like their camera API) private, and even their public APIs might be released to developers months after devices had shipped. I don't think a simulator for the TH55 was ever released.

    But despite the problems, I'm sorry to see them go. Sony injected an energy into the Palm handheld market that I don't think can be matched by the other manufacturers.

    --Stuart

  • Yippie! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Now my Sony conglomerate investment holdings are bound to SOAR. Or is that spelled SOUR?

  • PDAs are transitional devices anyway (Score:3, Insightful)

    by btharris ( 597924 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:54AM (#9302686)
    i think the handheld pda as we have known it has really just been a tranistional device anyway. its purpose, as history may remember it, was to bridge the gap into more versatile devices such as what mobile phones are becoming (and have become already). the major features of newer pdas are wireless networking capabilities such as bluetooth, 802.11, etc. but what about the most well-established and well-known networking capability of them all---the telephone? now that's wireless. just use that.

    of course i think it's rather sad to see such a well designed line of products come to an end (i personally have a sony clie), but surely sony is aware of the larger issues. the newest coolest thing they came out with was the UX-50, which when i first looked at it, i thought of it as a sub-sub-notebook. it just runs Palm OS and you can't upgrade any of the hardware. for the cost (US$600) you could easily get a bad-ass mobile phone that does all you'd need anyway---and it's a phone.

  • Sad... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jargoone ( 166102 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @08:59AM (#9302728)
    I purchased Sony's first palm-based handheld, the PEG-S300, not long after it came out. It was a competitor to the Palm V, as mentioned in the article, but cost a fraction. It was small, fast, had a hi-res screen, a jog dial, and came with a nice case that is still the best I've seen for a PDA. But the interface to the sync software was clearly rushed to market absolutely sucked.

    Sucks that the competition is gone -- first Handspring, now Sony. At least Palm seems to have gotten their act together on the hardware side of things.
  • I'm a bit torn by this but overall this is a good thing. I have had many, many Sony PDAs over the years. I used an NX70V for a long time and really enjoyed it. However, as a developer, the Sony devices were a royal pain in the ass. The UI was painful to deal with. Their OS4 devices were a disaster, again, from the independent developer POV. They did move the ball forward though. They will be missed.

  • Market Slump (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Wog ( 58146 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:04AM (#9302765)
    Even the article suggests that the trimming of the PDA field was not unexpected, given the flat sales. And the reason is made clear by talking to PDA shoppers or even looking at this thread: Everyone is fine with what they've got.

    I'd be freaking lost without my PDA. I used a Palm 3 that I was given for a little while, then bought the Visor Deluxe when it came out, and used it until just recently. When it finally died (backlight failed) I dropped $90 on a Clie SJ-22. It's a great little PDA with a very bright white backlight that's on by default, 16meg memory, reads memory sticks, etc. I'll use it until it dies some horriffic death (hopefully in a few years) and get whatever is simple, cheap, highly-reviewed and well-supported.

    I guess the point I'm trying to make is that people use these things primarily for their original purpose: to *organise things.* The vast majority of PDA users might *like* color screens, mp3 playback, cameras, etc. But when they get to talking about it, you soon understand that they still mostly just want it to keep their lives in order. It's interesting that even many one-percenters on /. seem to be the same way. I love new tech just like anyone else, but it's a lot cheaper for me to play with the neat gizmos seperately, and not have my mishaps affect my PDA. Any other thoughts?
    • Note the wide selection of PDAs on the secondary markets (ebay). The only people buying are new users (or those buying for gifts), and those few odd ones who have to have the latest. (and those guys sell the old one on ebay to help fund the addiction)

    • Re:Market Slump (Score:3, Insightful)

      by aallan ( 68633 )

      But when they get to talking about it, you soon understand that they still mostly just want it to keep their lives in order. It's interesting that even many one-percenters on /. seem to be the same way. I love new tech just like anyone else, but it's a lot cheaper for me to play with the neat gizmos seperately, and not have my mishaps affect my PDA. Any other thoughts?

      My PDA is totally critical, I've got everything in there. While I backup regularly and use iSync to keep everything synchronised with my

  • I picked up two PEG-TG50 handhelds after my Palm IIIxe and Handspring were getting long in the tooth. The features of the TG-50 were enough of an incentive for me to get one. They'll be missed, as the Palm PDA units lag behind.

    Of course I'l sure this also means that they won't release the API for the Palm OS5 devices for getting sound working properly on these devices, now will it? :-P

  • They did it before: Sony's first abandoned PDAs. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DdJ ( 10790 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:06AM (#9302777) Homepage Journal
    I own three MagicCap based PDAs. Two of them, the PIC-1000 [multipart-mixed.com] and the PIC-2000A [multipart-mixed.com], were manufactured by Sony. Neither of them has been made or supported for many years.

    The worrisome thing: after Sony bailed, pretty much everyone else using the MagicCap OS did too. Today, you can't get the OS at all anymore, and you can't even really get a dev environment for it. Hopefully, PalmOS can hang on.

  • ARR! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Simon Carr ( 1788 ) <slashdot.org@simoncarr.com> on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:16AM (#9302853) Homepage
    I've got an SJ-33, and I consider it one of the best peices of hardware I've ever had. It's great. Compliments the eMac perfectly. So I'm going to have to shop around for a new vendor now. The last time I looked at the Palms they were a bit fragile feeling..

    I kinda saw this coming in the back of my mind though. Look at the last lineup, they've actually subtracted features (like the MP3 player) from the newer models that I consider to be in the same class as the SJ.

    They've seemingly fixed that now with a good looking feature rich TJ37, but the 27's were sorta half-arsed.

    And I knew something was terribly wrong with the whole line when I saw the UX50. That thing just defies everything about what makes PalmOS functional.

  • I didn't want a Palm because I wanted a more functional mini-computer. I own a Zaurus SL-5500 and was set to buy a SL-6000 except for two problems. Price and the lack of Bluetooth. I would have still gotten one at that outrageous price ($700) if it had Bluetooth. Chances are - if I am in range of Wifi, I have my laptop. I need a PDA when I'm not near Wifi and want to access the net over GPRS cell phone - hence the need for Bluetooth.

    Further, the relatively lackluster open source-ness of the project and Sha

  • No they're not. (Score:5, Informative)

    by ATomkins ( 564078 ) on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @09:51AM (#9303188)

    I saw this story on Brighthand this morning and was about to submit it to slashdot, but I decided to check my facts first.

    BargainPDA [bargainpda.com] says "Sony has informed us that they will not release any new Clie PDAs this year in the US."

    They had a conference call with Sony last week, and Sony made is abundantly clear that this is just a regrouping, they will NOT be exiting the market.
    You can probably expect for Sony's next US model to be released with a bang. 'After an x-month hiatus, Sony has decided to revolutionize the PDA landscape again!' or something.

    But again! SONY IS NOT EXITING THE MARKET! NOTHING TO SEE HERE! MOVE ALONG!

    If this doesn't get me some karma, nothing will :-\

  • PSP Screens (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    this is clearly a response to the lcd shortage. the psp is expected to sell 3 million units worldwide by march 2005. all those screens have to come from somewhere. the playstation brand is way more important to sony then the clie. this is a bold move, and shows how much sony wants to succeed in the handheld gaming market.

  • It's unfortunate (Score:3, Informative)

    by argmanah ( 616458 ) <argmanah AT yahoo DOT com> on Tuesday June 01, 2004 @10:14AM (#9303523)
    I own a TJ-37, and it has been one the most useful items I've had for travel. An affordable device with a camera good enough to take pictures to post on the web and built-in wifi is a really amazing accomplishment. Plus with a decent sized memory stick the device doubles as an MP3 player as well.

    I for one am sorry to see Sony exit the handheld market.

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